Character and Creature Animation

Overview

Faculty: Animation
Duration: 6 Weeks – Weds & Thurs 6pm – 9pm
Delivery: Online
Certification: Pulse College Cert

Start Date: 14th May 2025
Course Director: Kathryn Ross
Fees: €800

COURSE CONTENT

In this short course students will learn how to use Maya 2025 to develop an animation portfolio for the visual effects and film industry. We will explore how animators and layout artists use science, technology, history and animation theory to craft believable performances for the silver screen. Students will be guided through the steps to create various types of Visual Effects shots in Maya. Portfolio Development will be an essential part of this course with weekly milestones to develop material for animation or layout demo reels specialized for VFX.

Who is this course for? This course is for students and hobbyists with a beginner or intermediate level understanding of character animation in Maya who want to develop an industry-grade animation portfolio. Work opportunities after this course include : animator, layout artist, and technical animator.

This course will include weekly milestones that can be used in student portfolios to secure
jobs in feature, vfx, or game animation.

DETAILED COURSE CONTENT

Week 1

Introduction to Animation

In this class we will introduce students to the Maya interface and commonly used animation tools. We will discuss rig set-ups, 2D animated elements in Maya, Hierarchy, Constraints, the graph editor, motion trails, baking, the ghost editor and the principles of animation in a technical context.
Weekly Milestone : Students will demonstrate their rig knowledge with a still pose study
displaying principles of animation

Week 2

Animating for VFX:

In this class we will discuss realistic animation, animated cycles on paths, proxy animation, prop animation, gravity balls, and other techniques to create a realistic performance. We will also discuss VFX as a discipline and a brief overview of VFX history.
Weekly Milestone : Students will animate a bouncing ball with realistic timing and weight and present it with PIP reference.

Week 3

Animation for Games

In this class we will discuss game cycles and prop animation. Students will learn how to export animations from Maya to Unreal Engine and implement motion trees. Game theory and history will be discussed.
Weekly Milestone : Students will animate an idle and walk cycle for a biped rig and present the animation on a turntable or in Unreal Engine.

Week 4

Creature Animation in Maya

An in-depth look at creature behavior, biology, and kinematics as well as techniques to creatively blend creature locomotion for fantasy creatures. Students will learn how to identify a cycle from footage and how to animate a realistic 3D creature performance in Maya using a pre-constructed rig.
Weekly Milestone : Students will animate their first VFX portfolio piece: a quadruped or flight cycle on a turntable

Week 5

Feature Animation in Maya

In this class we will examine how acting and character are portrayed in feature films by examining camera choice, set dressing, layout techniques, and practical maya organization. Students will explore cinematic body kinematic shots and learn the difference between pose to pose animation and layered animation. Students will practice animating hands and eyes and learn about creating selection sets.
Weekly Milestone : Students will choose an audio excerpt and film reference for that acting shot as well as explore layout techniques for their acting shot.

Week 6

The Acting Shot

In this class we will learn how to make animated characters speak with a lip sync exercise and explore resources to improve acting skills for feature animation. We will discuss demo reels and portfolio techniques.
Weekly Milestone : Students will animate a lip sync acting animation.

TUTOR

Kathryn Ross

Kathryn Ross holds a B.S. in Digital Media with an emphasis in Animation from East Tennessee
State University in the United States. She has worked on feature films for major production
companies, most notably Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom and Apple TV’s Finch. The latter
which won the VES Award for Outstanding Animated Character.